GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Final preparations for Halloween were taking place Monday night and into Tuesday in downtown Greenville.

So what will the downtown area look like and how were businesses getting ready? How can the older kids who want to take part in the festivities stay safe? What are some of the precautions the city is putting into place?

“(Tuesday) night we’re expecting a good time,” said Jordan Gurley, manager of Sup Dogs. “You know Halloween is a great holiday for the Greenville location, we’ll have plenty of staff working, good atmosphere, great food, plenty of drinks so yeah, it’ll be a good time.”

In years past for Halloween, Greenville police would block off downtown with barricades to minimize traffic hold-ups and accidents in the busy downtown. This year, the Greenville Police Department is lifting those barricades in favor of an increased police presence.

You can expect to see officers all over, but especially monitoring downtown, the grid and student housing throughout the East Carolina University campus. The key to a fun atmosphere is safety.

“For our own safety, we have plenty of staff on hand for (Tuesday) night, bus boys, bouncers, managers, stuff like that,” Gurley said. “Then we’ll also have the police presence downtown helping us out with any issues if anything arises. We normally can keep control of everything and should be a good time.”

It’s a great atmosphere, it’s fun, people are in a good mood, I enjoy seeing the different costumes, couple costumes are super fun, the dog costumes are also kind of my favorite, to see what the owners come up with and if there’s a owner and a dog costume that’s even better,” said Brianna Long with Pitt Street Brewery.

No matter where you end up Tuesday night, officials said to make smart decisions and stay responsible if you plan on going to downtown Greenville on Halloween.

“Realize who you’re with, always keep an open eye,” Gurley said. “You want to be observant of everything, have great situational awareness, know who you’re with and just be safe, keep a lookout for one another. If you’re with a friend, make sure they’re OK, too. Don’t try to leave anybody behind, stay as a group, and should be a good time.”